


better than rats

by celaenos



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, One Shot, critrole rsweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-24 15:16:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14957069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celaenos/pseuds/celaenos
Summary: “But… wait, HAVE YOU NEVER HAD CHOCOLATE CAKE BEFORE?” she hollers.





	better than rats

Yasha blinks as Jester flops down beside her and grins. “They’ve got chocolate cake here!” she exclaims, bursting with excitement.

“In a tavern?” Yasha looks around. “It doesn’t exactly strike me as… the most sanitary of places.”

Jester shrugs. “Chocolate cake is chocolate cake Yasha.”  

“… Yes.”

“I got a piece for you too!”

“Oh, I don’t… that was…” Yasha swallows. “Thank you,” she forces out. Instead of saying _that wasn’t necessary._ It was the right choice of words, Jester beams and throws her arms around Yasha. It’s a tight and affectionate hug, there and gone in a blink of a second. Then Jester is just beside her again, fingers tapping excitedly on the dirty table.

“So,” she says, “how are you today?”

“Um,” Yasha looks around the dimly lit, grimy tavern that they found the night before. The only other patrons awake at this hour are a halfling nursing a cup of coffee in the corner, and two humans half asleep and sharing a plate of eggs. “I’m… good. So far. Since I woke up twenty minutes ago.”

Jester beams. “I think it’s going to be a good day all day.”

Yasha smiles. Jester’s enthusiasm is infectious. “Why do you say that?”

“Well, we’re all alive. Which is very good.”

“It is.”

“And, we blew up those merman things, and we found the safe house!”

“Right…”

“So, we’ll get more money, and now we’re about to have chocolate cake for breakfast!”

“Is that the main thing you’re happy about?” Yasha asks.

Jester nods at her enthusiastically as the owner brings over their cake. Jester has already grabbed her fork and dug in by the time Yasha asks for a cup of coffee as well.

“Is it good?” she asks, poking at it dubiously with her own fork. Jester nods, mouth full and Yasha shrugs, taking a small bite. It’s not the best-looking thing she’s ever seen, but it tastes delicious. “Wow,” she breathes. “This is better than rats.”

Jester’s face scrunches up and she squawks at Yasha, indignant. “Chocolate cake is WAY better than _rats_ Yasha.”

“That’s what I said!”

“But… wait, HAVE YOU NEVER HAD CHOCOLATE CAKE BEFORE?” she hollers. The halfling in the corner jumps out of his hair, dagger out swinging before falling onto his face. The owner sighs at him.

“I…” Yasha watches the owner help him up, and then watches her scold him. Jester whacks at her arm to get her attention back. “Um, no. I have not.”

Yasha hasn’t known Jester for very long, but it’s been long enough to know that the indignant look on her face is impressive and not to be messed with.

“WE NEED MORE CHOCOLATE CAKE!” she screeches, shoving herself back away from the table and nearly falling over in the process. Yasha sticks out a hand to catch her and Jester wobbles, clutching Yasha’s arm for balance. “Thank you,” she says towards Yasha. “CHOCOLATE CAKE,” she yells in the direction of the kitchen.

The woman walks out with her hands on her hips. “I _heard_ you,” she says. “Probably all my guests did. Most of which are asleep.”

Jester bounds up to the woman, gripping her shoulders and bouncing up and down. “Ma’am it’s an _emergency,_ ” she stresses, sounding like this is a matter of life and death. “My friend over there has _never had chocolate cake before._ Ever. Not even one time!”

The owner looks over and Yasha doesn’t know what to do. So, she waves. From the look on the owner’s face, it’s not the right call, from the look on Jester’s, it is, but that is… only more confusing. Jester lowers her voice and whispers with the owner for a few more seconds, and then the woman walks back into the kitchen with a sigh. Jester skips back over and plops back down beside Yasha.

“You get a _whole cake,_ ” she grins, before taking another bite of her piece.

“I already have some,” Yasha points.

“That’s not enough,” Jester insists. “Plus, everyone else will be awake soon. Kiri was kicking around a bit when I came down and Beau doesn’t usually sleep very long. They’ll all want cake too.” Yasha’s face grows warm at the mention of Beau, and Jester grins at her, but—for once—says nothing. Yasha is grateful, she has no idea what those feelings mean exactly yet and is not in a place where she wants to poke at them. Not now.

Fjord shows up first, and Yasha takes note of the way that Jester’s cheeks go a bit pink as he slides down beside her and runs a palm through his messy hair. He doesn’t look fully awake. Yasha and Jester both glance down at the place where he shoved the gem into his gut before looking at his face.

“What have we got going on here?” he asks, not noticing, or not acknowledging their looks.

“Fjord, Yasha has _never_ had chocolate cake before! We’re getting her a whole one.”

Fjord grins at her sleepily, saluting her with a cup of coffee that has been brought over. “Sounds like a good breakfast.”

“What does?” asks Beau, walking over to the table, Kiri on her shoulders.

“Chocolate cake breakfast!” Jester says, scooting over to let Beau sit on the other side of her. Yasha tries not to look uncomfortable being this close to Jester, but she’s still not used to being this close to people. At least not people that aren’t Molly.

Beau gives her a smile, which then turns into a pained grunt as Kiri climbs down, smacking her in the face with a feather. She turns and starts talking to Fjord, snagging the cup of coffee out of his hands. Jester pokes Yasha in the side gently, whispering, “Is it okay that I got you the cake? I know that I forgot to ask, I just thought—”

“I am very excited to have more,” Yasha whispers back. “Thank you.”

Jester beams back at her, and once again Yasha finds herself pulled into a quick hug. This time, she manages to get her arms up and pat Jester back, further adding to the grin on her face.

“CHOCOLATE CAKE!” Kiri hollers.

“Yes, Kiri!!” Jester cheers and the two of them start chanting together. Yasha smiles, joining in quietly, if a bit awkwardly when Jester prompts her.


End file.
